We Don’t Know, Until We Know: Embracing Niche Passions and Specific Stories in Games
summary
Built a niche showcase and publisher that proves specificity sells: a first Wholesome Direct hits ~122K views, the program has showcased 375 titles and driven >1M wishlists, plus over $200K raised for charity. A small co-op ships Spirit Swap, a queer-led studio runs a Kickstarter that doubles its 75K goal to 150K, and a hyper-specific publishing arm signs four titles so far. Strategy uses calculated, reversible “frog hops,” tooling for accessible trailers and community-first marketing, and mixed results on physical events.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Introduction
- 3:56Niche passions for career growth
- 9:58From teaching to games
- 16:43First game community
- 22:05Wholesome Direct cozy games
- 29:37Publishing games Soft Not Week
- 37:30Successes teamwork in games
- 40:20Frog hops sustainable risks
- 43:30Future niche storytelling
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